Good Samaritan Deaths on North Carolina Highway Leads to New Safety Measures

RALEIGH, N.C. – Fencing is being installed on sections of Interstate 440 in North Carolina to prevent a repeat of accidents that saw two Good Samaritans fall to their deaths in four years.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that the city council approved spending $61,000 of city funds to match funds from the state Transportation Department.

The move comes after men who had stopped to help accident victims fell 70 feet to their deaths in November and in 2005. Both men tried to jump out of the way of vehicles barreling down on them, without knowing about the drop on the other side of the barrier.

State officials had refused to install fencing after the earlier accident, arguing the odds of others falling were too slim to justify the cost.